First off, please see the January 2018 issue of POCI’s Smoke Signals for a 4 page article written by PontiacParadise Technical Adviser, POCI’s 8 Lug Adviser and Midwest Board of Director of POCI Les Kasten. The article covers a number of 8 lug issues and updates.

Second off, I want to pass on some very valuable information. A couple of years ago, Brad from Fabcraft told me of a way to make your drum brake Pontiac stop like NOW! I was in the mist of another problem facing 61-64 Catalina/Grand Prix owners buying new brake shoes. I have done countless shoes changes however I was doing the front shoes on my own 64 Catalina and I had gone to O’Rielly to get new shoes. I already had a new small parts kit from Kanter. When I went to install the shoes, I noticed that the new shoes had oval holes where the “nails” came thru. The original shoes had round holes and used round springs and caps. The new shoes could not be installed. I tried shoes from Auto Zone, Car Quest and even looked on line. They ALL had oval mounting holes. I had to order a correct set of shoes from Minneapolis Truck and Car Brake. I finally checked back with O’Rielly and looked at photos of Bonneville shoes. They had the round holes. I did order a set of these to confirm. Ok, listen up…..all the parts stores and shoes online for 61-64 Catalina and Grand Prixs are WRONG. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE FOR BONNEVILLE VERSES CATALINA BRAKES. ORDER BONNEVILLE BRAKE SHOES. BTW….save your old shoes…here’s why:

During the “dark time”, I had a great conversation with Brad at Fabcraft. He passed on this information. He takes his front shoes and has them relined with FORKLIFT MATERIAL! Your local forklift repair dealer can take your old shoes and reline them. There is bad news and good news. Bad news is they will only last about 10,000 miles. The good news is that your car will stop on a dime and give you 9 cents back! It cost me $40 to get my fronts done. Since most of your braking is up front, I’m not sure you need to do the rears. Most of us will never get 10,000 miles on our cars.

Another thing….watch out for eBay 61-64 new rubber brake hoses from South America. They come in sets of three, 2 fronts and one rear. The fronts are fine but the rear hose is completely wrong and useless. All the attaching fittings are wrong. What a waste of time. May be the same problem for 65-68 hoses. Hope this helps! LK 3/11/2018

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